Renata’s is a cafe at war with itself, knowing they must hew to the sub-spaghetti-fettucine-lasagna cartel in order to ensure the rent; those dishes, while fine, are better made elsewhere and cheaper. So stick to the dishes unfamiliar to our American knowledge of Italian food. While polenta is somewhat known, it’s definitely not usually conceived of as Renata’s polenta romana, perfectly formed blocks of the stuff standing over a shallow pool of a creamy sauce spiked with what tasted like Chianti—spectacular. There’s also a pasta dish, name unfamiliar to the Italian-American restaurant canon, with chunks of pancetta crisped like chicharrones—amazing.

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